Horse meat scandal the tip of the iceberg - goodness knows what else we’ve been fed

I HAVE only just had my edition of the Grimsby Telegraph delivered and read the letters in Viewpoint, the one titled "What's the fuss?" about the horsemeat issue so incensed me that I felt I had to respond immediately!

The writer (and may I say any other persons like them) have completely and utterly missed the point!

Yes, no one has been taken ill, poisoned or died, but we should be able to put our trust in the people who tell us that what is listed as ingredients on our packaged food is in fact blooming well correct!

Another moral issue with this is that there are those of us who would personally choose NOT to eat horse, and would like to be given the chance to make that decision for ourselves thank you.

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This is only the tip of the iceberg, goodness knows what else we have been fed, one way or another.

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The Telegraph says

There are several issues in this scandal, one being the fact that we are paying potentially far more for a product if it contains "cheaper" meats. Another is the potential health risk, bearing in mind that horse carcasses shipped this year from the UK to France that probably entered the country's meat-producing market were found to contain traces of a painkiller. And, of course, it is an offence to falsely label a product as one when it is, in fact, another.

Dont worry about it. I have worked in the frozen food industry, fishing. If you knew what went into things you would be annorexic. Then there are other things in the food chain. Pesticides, chemicals and antibiotics. As someone else said you would have to consume hundreds of tainted burgers or other such things daily for it to be a hazard. Sometimes it is best not to know.

I understand what you are saying, but a) if the company selling the product mislabel their product they are commuting an illegal act, and b) once the product enters this company the Food Standards Agency do have the powers to check any food product.
Yes there may be some failings in the EU regulations, but just like any product, people circumnavigate the rules, illegally, to make money. The supermarkets and food processing companies have total responsibility for what goes from their premises to the mouths of the consumers.
If we were to weigh up the weight of blame the VAST majority would be with the supermarkets, the process plant companies, and the Food Standards Agency. The fact that one source of the meat may well be Mexico, shipped via Texas (where it is illegal to ship or transfer horse meat or human consumption) shows that the problem lies with sourcing meat within a global market.
Hopefully this will all bring about a change in the way we consume meat!

DerAngriff wrote: "Calypso, I'm pretty sure that the EU do not allow mis labelling of food products OR potentially tainted meat into food products. What has happened here is criminal activity by individuals or businesses".
As much as I would like to declare that the EU are trying to poison us all as part of some sinister plot to take over the world .. I have to say that you are, of course, right. It's not deliberate. But it is the EU regulatory system *itself* which has created the environment where fraud and criminality now flourishes.
The Single Market has no 'borders'. The whole of the European food network from farm to store is regulated by EU law, and is subject to a costly regulatory regime called HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) which replaced the old British system of physical spot checks at the port of entry and the place of sale. Where imported food is concerned, as long as all the HACCP paperwork conforms with EU requirements and all the boxes are ticked .. it cannot be physically checked (without a very very good reason). Doing so would break EU law which forbids discrimination on 'national' grounds.. Thus, we just have to hope and pray that all those involved in the food's journey from it's origin to our plates, (in this case, meat) are as concerned about food standards and hygeine as we are, and that its properly policed. But we have no way of knowing because we're not allowed to flippin check!!!!
And so, of course, the absence of the 'spot-check' detterent is an open invitation for criminal elements to 'work the system'.
The real negligence here lies in the EU's regulatory system. It's simply not fit for purpose.
And the crazy part about all this, is that we can't do a thing about it. Not unless Brussels allows us to.

Calypso, I'm pretty sure that the EU do not allow mis labelling of food products OR potentially tainted meat into food products. What has happened here is criminal activity by individuals or businesses.
So whilst it is true we are not in charge of setting our own rules, the EU have a set of stringent rules that should stop this kind of thing happening. The EU cannot be held responsible for the actions of criminals.
The buck stops with the manufacturers and the retailers. If you do not know what you are selling then you are breaching the trust of your customers.
I would be interested to hear (in a non ranting cohesive manner) how things would be different if a British company added horse meat to it's beef supply if the UK was not a member of the EU but had a free trade agreement?

GT wrote: "There are several issues in this scandal".
The biggest scandal being, of course .. that the media never mentions the EU's dead-hand in this whole sorry affair.
FOOD SAFETY STANDARDS, LABELLING, PRODUCTION, AND DISTRIBUTION IS ENTIRELY THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE EU.
Which begs the question .. are our useless dumbed-down media unaware of this fact, or are they deliberately ignoring it?
Or are they simply not bothered either way?